The Tide Continues To Turn:

Gov't Orders 14 Lenders To Reimburse Homeowners

In 4 Years Since Housing Bust, About 5M Homes Foreclosed Upon

DEREK KRAVITZ, AP Real Estate Writer

POSTED: 12:00 pm CDT April 13, 2011

UPDATED: 6:09 pm CDT April 13, 2011

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WASHINGTON -- The federal government on Wednesday ordered 14 of the nation's largest mortgage lenders and two servicers to reimburse homeowners who were improperly foreclosed upon.

Government regulators also directed the financial firms to hire auditors to determine how many homeowners could have avoided foreclosure in 2009 and 2010.

Citibank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the nation's four largest banks, were among the financial firms cited in the joint report by the Federal Reserve, Office of Thrift Supervision and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Fed said it believed financial penalties were "appropriate" and that it planned to levy fines in the future. All three regulators said they would review the foreclosure audits. Under the agreements reached, the lenders and servicers have 45 days to hire an auditor and will "remediate all financial injury to borrowers caused by any errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies." There is no minimum or maximum dollar amount identified.

In the four years since the housing bust, about 5 million homes have been foreclosed upon. About 2.4 million primary mortgages were in foreclosure at the end of last year. Another 2 million were 90 days or more past due, putting them at serious risk of foreclosure.

Critics, including Democratic lawmakers in Congress, say the order is too lenient on the lenders. House Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday that would require lenders to perform a series of steps, including an appeals process, before starting foreclosures.

"I want to know what abuses (the government agencies) identified, which banks committed them and how their proposed consent agreement is going to fix these problems," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Government and Oversight Committee. "Based on what I have read ... I am not encouraged at all."

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said the agreements struck were a "step towards addressing the improper and fraudulent practices to which many of the country's largest mortgage servicers have admitted."

The other lenders and service providers cited by the agencies include: Ally Financial Inc., Aurora Bank, EverBank, HSBC, MetLife Bank, OneWest Bank, PNC, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Banks, U.S. Bank, Lender Processing Services and MERSCORP.

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